Dozens Killed, Hundreds Wounded By Wave Of Attacks In Iraq

Smoke rises from the wreckage of a vehicle in Kirkuk, Iraq. A bomb in it exploded — one of a series of coordinated attacks today on Shiite Muslims across the country.

Marwan Ibrahim
/ AFP/Getty Images

There's grim news from Iraq this morning, where scores of people have been killed in coordinated attacks on Shiite Muslim pilgrims. As often happens when stories such as these are developing, different news outlets are reporting different death tolls. No matter which report you read, however, the news is disturbing:

-- "A wave of bombings in six Iraqi provinces, including 10 locations in Baghdad, has killed 83 people and wounded nearly 300, Iraqi police say. Many of the dead in the Iraqi capital were Shia pilgrims gathering for a religious festival." (BBC News)

-- At least 75 people were killed and scores more injured by an estimated 18 bombs. (NPR's Ghassan Adnan, reporting for our Newscast Desk from Baghdad.)

-- "One of the deadliest blasts on Wednesday occurred in the Kadhimiyah area of north Baghdad, where tens of thousands had gathered to mark the anniversary of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim's death." (Al-Jazeera)

-- "Violence in Iraq has eased off since the height of the war, but Islamists tied to al-Qaida are still a potent threat, often targeting Shia pilgrims in attempts to inflame the sectarian tensions that drove Iraq close to civil war in 2006 and 2007. In the latest attacks in the capital, at least 18 people were killed when four bombs struck Shia pilgrims across Baghdad as they gathered to mark the anniversary of the death of the imam Moussa al-Kadhim, a great-grandson of the prophet Muhammad. One of those blasts killed at least nine people as pilgrims passed through a police checkpoint in central Baghdad." (The Guardian)